For many guests, one of the most delightful parts of a Carnival cruise is returning to the stateroom to find a towel animal waiting.
But one recent cruiser may have uncovered the secret behind the magic.
TikToker Matt Kortelainen, sailing on Carnival Adventure from Sydney to Moreton Island, found a bag of pre-made towel animals hidden under his bed.In a now-viral video, he compared the discovery to finding out Santa isn’t real.
The revelation sparked laughs, mock disappointment, and plenty of comments from other cruisers online.
Some admitted they’d also stumbled across hidden towel animals during past sailings.
@mynamesmattt Oh my goodness Carnival! 😂 #carnival #carnivalcruise #towelanimals #cruise ♬ original sound – Matt
While the discovery might spoil the illusion for some, it also makes sense.
On a full sailing, Carnival’s crew may need to deliver thousands of towel animals every day.
Preparing them ahead of time would help with efficiency, especially alongside all their other duties.
Kortelainen himself took the situation in good humour.
Rather than being upset, he unpacked the animals and displayed them around his cabin as a tongue-in-cheek surprise for his steward.
Towel Animal Rumours Denied by Carnival
Carnival Cruise Line has previously had to address speculation that its towel animals might be retired altogether.
In late 2023, an online rumour spread across cruise forums and social media, claiming that room stewards would no longer create the animals due to workload pressures.
The claim was quickly dismissed by the cruise line’s brand ambassador John Heald, who called the story “100% false” and confirmed that towel animals will always remain part of Carnival’s onboard tradition.
The rumour suggested that discontinuing the practice would give cabin attendants more time for other duties, but as stewards are highly skilled in making the animals, the time saved would have been minimal.
Many cruise lines offer towel-folding workshops onboard, for guests who wish to learn how to create their own versions of the animals at home.
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Jenni Fielding is the founder of Cruise Mummy. She has worked in the cruise industry since 2015 and has taken over 30 cruises. Now, she helps over 1 million people per month to plan their perfect cruise holidays.
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